Glory James Okon
Abstract
The main thrust of this study was to determine the extent to which managers of distance education institutions are enforcing COVID-19 protocols. The area of study was in Cross River State, Nigeria. Three specific research questions guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted, with the population covering 2,267 participants (including 791 instructors and 1,476 students) at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Ikom and Calabar study centres, and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Calabar. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were employed in selecting 907 respondents (40% of the population). Data were collected using a questionnaire that was designed by the researcher, validated by experts and with an S-CVI of .90 and Cronbach alpha coefficients of .90, .84 and .89 for the three sub-scales. Primary data were collected through the administration of copies of the questionnaire. Findings showed a low extent in the managerial enforcement of handwashing/sanitizing, social distancing and the use of facemasks respectively. Based on this evidence, reasons for the low extent, as well as future practice and research implications were discussed. Several recommendations were also made by the researcher in light of the findings of this study.